1"How to draw"
A/N: Yeah, it's a kind of happy one-shot. Gaara-Hinata-ish, a new pairing I'm considering supporting…
Words to know: Otonin-sound shinobi
Inkwell: It holds ink for a pen. I think that's how they'd write.
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"Hinata, watch out!" was the last thing she remembered. They had been in sand country, bringing a friend of the Kazekage there, when they were ambushed by the otonin…
She opened her eyes. They were in an unfamiliar building. Kiba and Akamaru were asleep in a chair nearby, but Shino wasn't there. She tried to sit up, but an explosive pain erupted in her back. Well, that made sense, as that was where she remembered being hit. But her arms seemed in working order, so she propped herself up. It hurt a bit, but not too badly.
She heard someone walk down the hall. Shino entered the room. "So you're up. We're in the Village Hidden in the Sand. We got Gaara's friend here only a day later than we thought we would. She helped carry you here."
Hinata cast her gaze downwards, blushing slightly. That's all she could do, slow the group down. She remained silent and Shino left.
---
Two weeks passed. Hinata found herself more and more often slipping into depression or lapsing into bouts of self-pity. So, Kiba had given her some parchment and a pen and recommended that she start drawing as she healed. Her healing would probably take at least three more weeks.
So, on the morning of the fifteenth day, Hinata found herself outside.
The scenery was a bit dreary, as it was a cloudy day. She was near the outskirts of the Village. She was leaning on a brick wall in front of a dead tree that looked like it had been struck by lightning. She sat down, not enjoying the fact she was sitting on sand, and picked up the pen. She dipped it in the inkwell and brought it down onto the paper.
There. A start. She brought the brush up a little, creating a light feathery stroke. The roots would start there.
For fifteen minutes she sketched. She had constructed something that looked like a tree…well, remotely. She wondered it she should be training, but quickly gave up the thought and returned to drawing. Another quick stroke and the tree was a bit taller.
"You're doing it all wrong."
Hinata flinched, and reached for the kunai pouch at her waist, before recognizing the voice. "H-Hello, K-Kazekage-sama…"
"Quit the sama thing, it drives me mad," he said, making her a bit confused. She knew he had changed since Naruto-kun had beaten sense into him, but he seemed…different.
She stood up, picking up the paper. Gaara hopped down from the wall, sending sand down as he landed. Hinata gave him a quizzical look.
He grimaced. "If you're wondering about the sudden change in attitude, your Hokage, Naruto, made a jutsu that allows me to sleep for four hours a day without me…loosing control. You know about Shukaku."
She nodded nervously.
"Anyways…" he said slowly,"you're doing it all wrong. That tree isn't made out of many small lines is it? No. It's made out of one line. Only amateurs draw with many small lines. It's like, 'I think I'm going to make a mistake so I'd better be careful and small- more precise.' But that's barely it."
Gaara took the pen, put it the inkwell once more, and drew over Hinata's little strokes to make one bold line. Although it still didn't look like the tree, it looked more like a tree. "You see, if all you ever do is move slowly and not very far, you won't get far. With one move, I went farther than your technique. True, if you move like I did just there, you're more likely to make a mistake. But the end result will be better than if you didn't do it. Don't be afraid to make a bold move. Though sometimes you do need to move slowly and not very far-" (he made several deft, precise strokes into a birds' nest Hinata hadn't noticed) "-you need to know when to do what."
Hinata had the odd thought that they were talking more about life that drawing, but she nodded and took the pen back. She tried. Her line wavered, but it completed the drawing.
"See?" asked Gaara. She nodded.
She bit her lip too. "G-Gaara-s-I mean, Gaara-k-kun, our s-sensei is m-making a s-sort of d-dessert tonight, a-and it's r-really good, I-I was wond-wondering if y-you might l-like to…" She let her last word trail off into the wind, and blushed, feeling stupid for actually asking the Kazekage to eat dessert with them that evening.
Gaara smiled as if he knew something no one else did. "I'd be delighted, Hinata…" He paused a minute, before surprising her with his last word. "-Chan."
She nodded. "S-See you th-then…"
Gaara watched her walk off and smiled. 'Well, I guess bold strokes come in all sorts of ways,' he thought, and nodded in her direction, knowing no one would hear him. "Yes," he said. "Hinata-chan. Be seeing you."